Recent data released by the Shaoxing Municipal Bureau of Statistics shows that during the first eight months of the year, the local economy maintained a stable overall trajectory while advancing toward higher quality and innovation, with new growth engines providing increasingly strong support. The performance is characterized by two areas of stability and two areas of rapid growth, laying a solid foundation for steady economic progress throughout the year.

The stable operation of the industrial sector serves as the core pillar supporting the economy's overall improvement. From January to August, the added value of industrial enterprises above a designated size in Shaoxing grew by 10.7% year-on-year, continuing to play a crucial stabilizing role in the economy. Across 35 major industry categories, 25 recorded growth in added value, representing an expansion rate of 71.4%. Amid complex and volatile internal and external conditions, the resilience of Shaoxing's industrial and supply chains has remained evident, effectively underpinning consistent industrial output.

This production stability has also created favorable conditions for steady price levels. During the first eight months, Shaoxing's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.6% year-on-year, with August seeing a 1.4% annual increase and a 0.7% monthly rise, keeping overall price levels within a reasonable range. In the same period, the city's Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial products increased by 4.1% year-on-year, while the Industrial Producer Purchase Price Index (IPI) climbed 5.3%. In August, the PPI rose 5.6% year-on-year and remained flat month-on-month. The stability of various price indicators provides ample policy space and maneuvering room to address economic uncertainties.

While consolidating the economic foundation, emerging industries and foreign trade have maintained rapid growth. From January to August, Shaoxing's emerging sectors demonstrated robust momentum, with added value in the digital economy core industries, high-tech industries, and equipment manufacturing growing by 18.5%, 18.5%, and 16.9%, respectively. In terms of products, output of industrial robots and integrated circuits surged by 81.3% and 23.3%, respectively. New product output value from industrial enterprises above a designated size rose by 12.0%, with the new product output value ratio reaching 40.4%, up 1.6 percentage points year-on-year, indicating an accelerating transition between old and new growth drivers. Meanwhile, the green content of the industrial sector has improved steadily, with the added value of new energy industries growing by 17.6%, reflecting deeper progress in green transformation.

"This suggests that economic growth momentum is shifting from factor input to innovation-driven development," said Song Luping, director of the Economics Teaching and Research Office at the Shaoxing Municipal Party School. The optimization of investment structures toward new directions further corroborates this trend. During the first eight months, investment in new quality productive forces remained active, with high-tech industry investment growing by 15.5% and digital economy core industry investment rising by 14.3%.

The rapid growth trend is equally evident in the foreign trade sector. Leveraging its comprehensive industrial system, continuously improving technical capabilities, and product quality, Shaoxing has seen steadily accelerating import and export growth, becoming a significant engine for economic expansion. From January to August, the city's total import and export volume reached 282.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.3%. Among this, exports totaled 258.4 billion yuan, up 8.9%, while imports reached 24 billion yuan, surging by 45.3%.

Consumption, another key growth driver, is also undergoing a shift. In the first eight months, Shaoxing's total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 215.5 billion yuan, up 2.9% year-on-year, with August alone recording a 3.0% increase. While the consumer market expands in scale, it is also transforming, primarily reflected in evolving consumption structures and methods. The share of service consumption in total consumption has increased, the proportion of upgraded goods sales has risen, and the driving effect of consumption has become more pronounced.